Japan Whalers Return After 5-Month Hunt

Three Japanese whaling boats returned home Wednesday after an Antarctic hunt amid growing international criticism of Tokyo’s plan to expand whale catches in the North Pacific.

The ships arrived at two ports after catching minke whales over a five-month period near Antarctica, said Tomoko Kuba, spokeswoman for Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research, which is funded by the government and sales of whale meat.

A total of 440 minke whales were caught during the hunt, she said. The exact total killed by the three ships arriving Wednesday was not immediately known. The ships were part of a five-vessel fleet.

The latest catches began in November amid threats by Washington to impose economic sanctions on Japan for its plan to expand hunting in the North Pacific from minke whales to Bryde’s and sperm whales, both protected under U.S. law. That hunt is scheduled to begin in mid-May, Kuba said.

Both nations have since agreed to ask the International Whaling Commission to reevaluate lethal and nonlethal methods of studying whales to see which produces better findings.